Which iPad should I buy for Developing? WiFi only or WiFi + 3G?

macrumors member

I'm a newbie to iOS development and I'm looking to buy an iPad to test out what I'll be working on. The biggest question I have is whether I can stick with a WiFi only model or if there are considerations to take into account in terms of data access protocols that mean I should get the WiFi + 3G model to make sure the data communications work properly over 3G?

I know there are certain apps that can specify "do this only if using wifi" (like NewsRack downloading images for RSS feeds, for example), but is data connection-agnostic unless otherwise specified?

I'd LOVE to stick with the WiFi model, but if my development's going to be hamstrung by the inability to see if things work properly over 3G, then I should probably buy the WiFi + 3G model. What do you guys think?

macrumors 6502a

Development often requires testing. If your application requires an anytime anywhere connection to the internet during use then the answer is obvious.

Different carriers have different notions as to bandwidth usage and may limit video bandwidth for some data streams. You'd best ask these questions of your carrier. Or if you're doing an application for a global market best research limits imposed across all carriers you expect the users of your application make use of your application.

macrumors 601

Just go with the Wifi. If you don't care about which is which in your app then it won't matter if you have a WiFi or 3G. Of course, from a testing point of view it is always better to test on the largest amount of configurations but if money is an issue then I don't see any problem in going WiFi only. I have WiFi myself (and do have iPad apps) and never had run into a problem.

thread startermacrumors member

Different carriers have different notions as to bandwidth usage and may limit video bandwidth for some data streams. You'd best ask these questions of your carrier. Or if you're doing an application for a global market best research limits imposed across all carriers you expect the users of your application make use of your application.

Click to expand...

It wouldn't be anywhere near that much bandwidth - mostly just database data for small, fairly simple databases, maybe the occasional spreadsheet or CSV file export.

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